LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The U.S. women's
national team used a balanced attack to cruise to a 16-9 victory
over defending NCAA champ Northwestern in its third and final game
of Champion Challenge weekend. The U.S. finished with a perfect 3-0
record against the Wildcats, Syracuse and Team England in its final
weekend of training before this week's announcement of the
18-player roster that will compete in the 2013 Federation of
International Lacrosse (FIL) Women's World Cup this summer in
Oshawa, Ont.

"Our biggest thought is to improve every time we're together. It
is the last time the 25 of us will be together, so we need to
cherish this, and we've just got to go out there and play," said
U.S. team captain Lindsey Munday, who won player of the game honors
Sunday against Northwestern with a one-goal, three-assist
performance.

The Wildcats opened scoring on an unassisted goal from senior
midfielder Taylor Thornton, and the two teams traded goals for the
first quarter of the game. But the U.S. took the lead for good when
midfielder Kelly Berger (one goal, two assists) dished to attacker
Sarah Albrecht (two goals), who converted a low crease shot at
12:54 of the opening quarter. A 9-2 run in late in the second half
gave Team USA a comfortable 10-4 halftime lead. Overall, 12
different players scored for the U.S., despite a solid performance
by Northwestern goalie Bridget Bianco (13 saves).

"This was a great test for us, because she did make a bunch of
saves. So the attack and the midfield, we did have to take a breath
and really focus on putting it around her," Munday said.

USA attackers Shannon Smith and Michelle Tumolo led the U.S.
with three goals each. Thornton paced the Wildcats with a pair of
goals.

"We're in the high teens [on offense] on average, which is a
great thing, against really quality opponents," USA coach Ricky
Fried said.

While no frontrunner has emerged as a go-to draw person for the
U.S., Fried is willing to trade specialized skills for overall
athleticism. With FIL rosters capped at 18, nearly half the size of
a typical NCAA roster, versatility takes precedence.

"Everyone has different philosophies. If there was a draw
specialist who was able to play the field as well as some of the
people on our team do, that would be the way we'd go," Fried
said.

Albrecht, Kristen Carr and Allyson Carey all took the draw for
the U.S. Though they had few clean wins in the air versus Leonard,
thanks to strong offball play and its midfield ride, Team USA
caused 16 turnovers and dominated possession.

Defensively, the U.S. performed well against a young
Northwestern offense still trying to find a replacement for Smith,
the former Tewaaraton Award winner and now first-year Hofstra coach
who graduated last year. Devon Wills started in the goal for the
U.S. and made four saves in the first half. Goalies Liz Hogan and
Megan Huether split time in the second half, with Hogan
contributing a save.

The game was chippy, with both teams accumulating multiple
yellow cards.

"Early we were playing a little tight. There's a lot at stake
individually, and it looked like that," Fried said. "We got settled
in late in the second half. We really talked to them about letting
the ball do more of the work, and the easy shots started
happening."

For now, the players have done all they can do to make their
respective cases for a spot on the team. Fried and his staff will
make their decisions and inform players individually, and the final
roster will be released to the public early this week. All of the
25 players will be invited to continue training with the team, and
two alternates will be selected closer to the July 10 start date of
the tournament.

"We asked them to focus on playing together and get the other
stuff out of their minds," Fried said. "Now, that's easier said
than done."